Hanging Garden
by bokunonetorare
Summary: A brief tale of a love that wasn't quite there and the young people who witnessed its end. Kise/Kuroko, Aomine/Kuroko


**Hanging Garden (Oneshot)**

**Summary:** A brief tale of a love that wasn't quite there and the young people who witnessed its end.

**Pairing: **Kise/Kuroko, Aomine/Kuroko

**Rating**: M

**Notes:** Originally intended as a multi-chapter piece under the title "THREE", I decided to put it all together in one compact package. The reason behind this was simple: I wasn't quite sure what held this all together thematically so I decided to to see how it would flow together as a oneshot. I thought it was a good idea and because of this a lot of parts were re-written. I think it reads a lot better now and it gave me a chance to explore themes like loneliness and the fear of facing personal truths. I hope you'll enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!

* * *

"What a surprise. I always thought you were the type who'd fool around." Aomine said to Kise as he flipped through a few pages of a gravure idol magazine.

"That's a popular misconception Aominecchi. I don't play around." Kise laughed. He was looking for a copy of an idol magazine he had a photoshoot for. "I wouldn't sleep with someone if I weren't serious. I wouldn't be a good adult if did toyed with girls."

"You're only in middle school and you're calling yourself an adult? Don't get so cocky!" A playful punch hit Kise on his right shoulder.

"O-Ow."

"An adult, huh?" Kuroko murmured before taking a sip of his vanilla shake. "So Kise-kun's already done /that/."

Aomine chuckled and Kise nervously scratched the back of his head.

The sun was about to set and the sky was painted in a mixture of orange and purple hues. They sat outside the arcade and listened to the cicadas sing. Kuroko looked like a grade schooler sitting between Kise and Aomine, but that never bothered him.

"Sex is no big deal." Kise shrugged it off. "I don't even remember who was the first girl I did it with. Completely forgettable. There isn't much of a difference between sex and doing it by yourself while reading sleazy magazines."

"Shut up blondie!" Aomine threw his ice cream stick at him.

"Kurokocchi, you probably shouldn't overthink it." Kise placed a hand on Kuroko's shoulder and gave it a reaffirming squeeze. "Sex isn't as great as porn makes it out to be."

"I'm not interested, really. What Kise-kun does in his free time is none of my business." The smaller man said it so nonchalantly that both Aomine and Kise were speechless. It wasn't like they were offended by the remark, instead- they admired that side of Kuroko. It's that bluntness that makes him so endearing.

"Aaaaa- Kurokocchi! Never change, don't become an adult! I don't want this world to corrupt you!" The blonde exclaimed dramatically. "The world of adults is a dark and horrible place!"

"I wouldn't want to go there." Kuroko murmured.

Aomine found himself staring at Kuroko's small figure. _He's gonna get swallowed up. If he goes out there on his own, there won't be anyone to protect him._ He thought.

* * *

That night, Aomine finds himself jerking off to the thought of Kuroko losing his virginity to a gravure idol.

The reality hit him on a sunny Monday morning. Aomine just jerked off to the image of Kuroko losing his virginity to- who was that gravure idol again? Sora Aoi? He couldn't even remember the girl.

"I'm the worst." He hid his face in his palms.

Is that how all voyeurs start out? Fantasizing about other people having sex?

* * *

If there's anything society has taught Aomine it's that the best way to deal with a problem is to pretend it doesn't exist.

"You're late." Kise was tying his shoelaces. "Is Kurokocchi with you?"

"Huh? I came here on my own." Aomine furrowed his brows. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen him all day."

"Weird. Why would-" The blonde didn't have the chance to finish his sentence as a loud clanking noise filled the locker room. Aomine could've sworn he heard the brooms fall over.

There was a small ruckus as a few more members of the team walked towards an old closet. Curiosity naturally pulled Aomine and Kise towards the crowd. Everyone was gathered around what appeared to be Kuroko who purposely locked himself inside the said closet and sat in a corner with his head buried between his arms. He was sound asleep.

A junior woke him up by shaking a shoulder gently.

Today's magic word is: "Surreal." That was the first thought that popped inside Aomine's head.

"K-Kurokocchi!" Kise exclaimed. "W-What the hell are you doing there?"

It took a while before Kuroko realized where he was. There was look of genuine shock when Kuroko looked up to Kise. "I don't really remember. Somehow I just ended up doing it."

Aomine watched as Kise took Kuroko's hand and helped Kuroko stand up. That was Kise's job, not his.

"Tetsu, this isn't the time to be playing around." Aomine feigned annoyance. It was an important social skill.

"I'm sorry."

"How are you feeling though? If you aren't feeling well than maybe you should head to the nurse's office."

Kuroko shook his head. "I'm fine. I feel as if I'm starting to remember something."

"And what's that?"

"Something that happened when I was young."

* * *

Aomine couldn't help but wonder if it was all his fault Kuroko ended up inside a closet. Was the universe unto him? Was the universe preparing the ultimate punishment for a pervert like himself? He almost tried not to buy a copy of that gravure idol magazine with Mai Horikita on the cover.

After visiting the convenience store, he, Kuroko and Kise ended for WacDonalds so Kuroko could get his daily vanilla shake. This ritual gave them time to calm down. Kise seemed to love it the most, he didn't mind if it meant walking a long distance back to his home.

This time, they agreed to hang out in a nearby park. However, no one spoke for the first thirty minutes. Kuroko's quiet little burp broke the silence. Kise and Aomine laughed.

"I think I remember it now." Kuroko said. "I think I remember _why _I ended up inside that dusty closet. When I was a kid, I was stuck there for a very long time."

Niether Kise or Aomine knew if they wanted to hear this story but they might as well do.

"I was six or seven then. A boy in middle school would follow me around after school. Whenever I asked why he did this, he said it was because he thought my shadow was incredibly faint. He told me I looked as if I could disappear at any given time. He promised he'd fix it. I didn't want to go with him but he bribed me with video games so I did go with him to his house."

Aomine groaned. "Seriously? Why the hell would you do that?"

"A part of me thought 'Ah, he's just like me.' He probably hated being alone too. From what I remember, he took me to his room and ordered me to get in the closet. He said: "They're going to get you, so you better hide in there. I'll bring you food and let you play games if you promise to stay inside. I didn't know what to do. I trusted him, but at the same time- I was scared. Why did I have to stay in that place? I thought. It was really dark." Kuroko stopped to take a breath. His head started to hurt a bit as well. Looking back on unpleasant memories was never a good thing. "But I stayed there anyway. True enough he brought me food and let me play Pokemon. He even lent me his manga and brought me sweets if I promised to keep quiet. I knew he was lonely, so a part of me felt bad thinking of what would happen if I ran away. Just like that, I was missing for three days. A police report was made and posters of myself were placed everywhere. One of the people living in the area who saw me walking home with him called the police."

"So what happened to that kid?" The model spoke with uneasiness in his voice. Whoever he was, he was pretty messed up.

"I never heard from him again." Kuroko answered, the tone of his voice never changed. Each line was delivered as if it were simply a fact. Nothing more, nothing less. "But today, I suddenly remembered his words. Maybe they are out to get me."

"Nothing's there." Aomine crossed his arms. "That kid was delusional. There's nothing out there to get you."

"Aominecchi's right Kurokocchi, and if anyone does try to mess with Kurokocchi, I'll be here to protect you!"

"I'd rather you not." Kuroko frowned.

"Aren't you being a little too cruel?" Kise cried.

Aomine wondered what was out there that could possibly swallow Kuroko. Was it some kind of metaphorical beast or was it something more human?

* * *

Kise left and it was just the two of them. Aomine and Kuroko walked the same path home and as much as Aomine would hate to admit it, he liked that it was just the two of them.

"Tetsu...do you think my hands are big?" Aomine put up his right hand to cover the setting sun.

"Your hands are big and your arms are strong. There's no doubt about that."

"Do you think I can protect you with this hands?" He pressed on.

Kuroko stared at Aomine's face for a while. He didn't know as to why he did it, perhaps he was searching for the sincerity behind those words.

"Do you want to?"

"I'm your light, I'm supposed to do that."

_Then stay with me. _Those were the words Kuroko wanted to say. But he couldn't be that way, Aomine's strength belonged to a lot of people.

"I don't wait Aomine-kun to waste his time protecting a person like me. Please work harder in basketball instead." That was all Kuroko asked of him.

"If I work any harder, I'll end up reaching my limit."

* * *

Kise plugged in his earphones, started his MP3 player and browsed through his homework. Why would Kuroko disappear? Sure he never stood out and most people can't even tell if he's there or not. But did that necessarily equate to disappearing? Do we measure a person's worth by the weight of their existence?

_Kurokocchi, did you always think you were alone?_

* * *

Sitting at the school's rooftop was as cliché as you could get. Kise tried not to laugh. As cliché as it is, the school rooftop was one of the few places that granted him solitude and he liked that. He liked getting away from fangirls who eagerly sought him out so they could give him handmade cookies. He appreciated the effort and all, but he was going out with someone. An older woman at that.

"Kise-kun?" A familiar voice called out to him. It sent a jolt through Kise's spine. He looked around and spotted Kuroko sitting a few meters away from him.

"Kurokocchi...how long have you been there?"

"A while."

"Really?"

"Really."

Kise stood up and walked towards his teammate. "So, Kurokocchi likes quiet places, huh?"

Kuroko nodded. "Yes."

The two of them quietly ate lunch together. Kise tried not to show how happy he was, being able to stay with Kuroko like this gave him peace. _How should I put it? When I'm with him everything goes into a standstill. Nothing beyond this space exists._

This was a rare occurrence and Kise wanted to savor every minute of it. Most of the time he and Kuroko would be hanging around with other people. While he had nothing against Aomine and the rest of the Generation of Miracles, whenever it was just him and Kuroko things were entirely different. Kise was freed of his inhibitions and he wouldn't be ostracised for it.

He wanted to talk to Kuroko more, he wanted to know if Kuroko felt the same way.

Kise glanced over to the other boy's direction. "Kurokocchi, don't you think it's time to get yourself a phone?"

"Why?"

The blonde rubbed his chin and closed his eyes. "Hmm...communication is important you know? It'd be nice to talk to you, even after school or basketball practice. A phone's great for emergency situations too, you should get one! Every kid in school should have a phone these days."

Kise did an exceptional job presenting his point. Kuroko nodded as he listed to the blonde, quietly agreeing with his points.

"Kise-kun, you may seem like an idiot but you say smart things every once and a while." Kuroko smiled.

Kise blushed. "Eventhough you called me an idiot, hearing you say that makes me happy."

"Thank you Kise-kun."

* * *

"Phones are cheap, but you've got to spend a little money if you want to get a real good one. Good phones last." Ren was one of Kise's model friends. He's been hoping to shift from modelling to acting. He hasn't gotten any major roles in dramas though, so his frustration has been piling up.

"You know money's not an issue, I don't mind paying a lot for a phone. Just tell me what the trendy ones are." Kise wiped the sweat off his brow. The two of them were stuck waiting for the third model to finish his takes.

"Just get a damn iPhone then. I hate it when guys try to impress their girlfriends like this."

"It's not for Ayaka. I can't impress her like that, it's-" Kise licked his lips."-for a friend."

Ren smirked and tried not let out a chuckle. "Oi, are you cheating on Ayaka?"

"WHAT?"

Ren placed a hand on Kise's shoulder. "I didn't think you had it in you Kise!"

"I- I would never do that. I'm serious about her, I love her."

"Kise, unless you're her husband, only a dumbass would be serious about a married woman."

Kise Ryota had his own secrets to keep. Sure, he a few of his model friends knew he was going out with Ayaka but that was it. It'd be a lie if he said he didn't care what his teammates would think if they found out, and that's why he was intent on keeping it to himself.

He removes Ren's hand and steps away. "I'm fine with being stupid."

* * *

Kise simply purchased a Docomo flip phone, iPhones be damned. It was a light blue one, since it reminded him of Kuroko.

"Not bad." He grinned.

* * *

"A phone, huh?" Aomine wore a weary expression. He just wasn't the type to get into conversations about phones. He threw a rock at the surface of the lake, ripples appear on the surface as the little rock skipped over a couple of meters away from him.

"Kise-kun says I should get one. But I don't know anything about phones." Kuroko flipped over to the next page of Natsume Soseki's 'Kokoro'.

Kise had no idea why Kuroko loved to read. To him, it was a painfully boring hobby. He has nothing against it, but he didn't have high opinions regarding literature. He wasn't concerned about Soseki, Dazai or Mishima. He didn't have the patience to read.

"Eh? Kise, you said that?" Aomine glanced over at Kise's direction.

Kise had a bad feeling about this. The ideal scenario would've been to hand Kuroko the phone in secret and call it a gift. But 'gifts' carry various meanings behind them, don't they?

"I- I thought it'd be a good idea."

"It is." Aomine straightened his posture. "I got myself a new phone as a birthday present. Tetsu, you can have my old one!"

Time stopped. Kise tried to open his mouth but words wouldn't come out. For the first time, he felt inexplicably angry at Aomine for even suggesting that.

"No. It's fine." Kuroko shook his head. "I can get my own."

Kise sighed in relief.

* * *

Aomine thought it was weird Kise approached him while Kuroko was taking his time in the convenience store looking for a magazine that had an exclusive feature on the female author Banana Yoshimoto.

"Aominecchi, did you really get a new phone for a birthday present?"

"Yup. Nothing fancy, just a flip phone. I didn't ask for a new one but my parents got me one anyway. They said they were glad I was having fun playing basketball at school."

Kise forced a laugh. "Cool."

"What is it? You've got something to say?"

The blonde knew he had make up a lie on the spot. "Actually, I was planning on getting Kurokocchi a new phone."

"Don't bother, you heard him. He's getting one himself. He'd think you were patronizing him if you did. I can't say I know him that well, but he can be stubborn if he wants."

"You're not saying that because _you _don't want me to. Right?"

"Do you want me to be honest with you?" The tanned boy stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Kise looked away. "Please do."

"What are you expecting? It's odd. Why would a guy like you give Kuroko a new phone? Wait. Before you use what I did earlier against me, let me remind you that I didn't need that phone, and I was fine with giving it away. But you're buying it. You worked hard for that money. It's natural for me to suspect that you're at least expecting some compensation for your hard work."

Kise was stunned with how much Aomine wanted to say. He took in a deep breath and swallowed down a lump in his throat. "I don't expect anything from Kurokocchi."

"Then don't do anything for him."

Aomine knew he was far more tenacious that Kise could ever be. If anything, he was no better than the boy who forced Kuroko to stay in his closet. He was like a child, unrelentingly selfish and cruel. He had an idea of what Kise was up to and he wouldn't have any of that. No. He wouldn't allow it.

* * *

"I'm sorry I took so long." The sliding doors opened and Kuroko stepped out with his magazine.

Aomine welcomed him back.

"Where's Kise-kun?"

"His manager called. He said he had urgent business."

Just like that, the farce was over.

* * *

The laptop is switched on and Kise accesses the internet to for places who do phone customization, preferably a group that's worked with Swarovski crystals. He finds a nice place that's only a train ride away. He wants Ayaka's name on it.

* * *

"Kise-kun, you shouldn't have." Ayaka's slender fingers ran over the rather over-decorated phone Kise gave her. Her lips were curved into a small smile as she observed his gift.

Ayaka was a half-French, half-Japanese model who worked with magazines like nonno and ViVi. She was a particularly popular model and was married to a music producer. This meant that whenever they went out, the two of them had to go incognito. They dated in inconspicuous places, small unpopular cafes were their favorite.

Kise worked with her on a toothpaste commercial. He was now the college student whose fresh breath enticed all the women, but he only had eyes for the sophisticated office lady next door. Cue in the happy ending, the rambunctious pop music and toothpaste logo. It wasn't hard to fall in love with her, she was smart, confident and funny. It also helped that she was occasionally sadistic.

"Do you like it?" The younger man leant in and anticipated her reaction.

"Well, it'd be difficult to explain to my husband but yes, I love it." She patted him on the head.

"You don't have to treat me like a pet!" He whined.

Ayaka laughed.

She rested her chin on her hand and grinned. "My husband's in Malaysia for a week."

Kise always took that as a sign for sex.

* * *

Sex for the two of them was...for the lack of a better word,weird. That never stopped them from trying though. The foreplay was great, the kissing was great...but when it came down to the act, the farthest they've ever gone was oral sex.

The same thing happened that night in that lush hotel room they rented for a night.

Kise tried to thrust inside her, but Ayaka would squirm in pain every time he tried.

Ayaka started to cry. She had been so happy earlier and now she couldn't stop crying. "I'm sorry Kise-kun. I'm sorry."

Kise moved away from her and gave her the space she needed. He put on his boxers and wore the shirt he just tossed aside earlier. "Please don't apologize."

"I-I'm sorry I can't get wet." She covered her face and continued to let out her heart-rending cries. "I'm not normal, this isn't normal. I'm so sorry."

* * *

Kise listlessly stared at the ceiling. He could feel Ayaka's naked breasts against his arm and that was enough to get him hard.

Everything went terribly wrong.

He wasn't even the same person anymore.

He should end it with Ayaka. This wasn't healthy.

Kise closed his eyes. He couldn't be with Ayaka and it felt as if the distance between him and Kuroko increased tenfold.

"Kurokocchi..." Kise drifted off to sleep.

* * *

That night he dreams of thrusting inside Kuroko, kissing him and feeling his bare skin against his. He thrusts in over and over until he climaxes and comes inside Kuroko. It was a dream where pleasure and guilt intertwined in the most beautiful way possible.

"Shit."

Kise woke up and realized his boxers were stained with semen.

He realized what had happened and ran to the bathroom. He wouldn't be able to undo something like this. Thinking of Kuroko that way and going as far as to corrupt that innocent image he had of his teammate caused him immeasurable guilt.

All things come to an end.

* * *

Kuroko was surprised to find out that Kise started walking home with Midorima, it turned out that those two lived in nearby areas. It was good, this way, Kuroko didn't have to worry if hanging out with Aomine and him was troublesome for Kise after all. However, Kuroko felt as if a big chunk of him was swallowed up by the darkness. He lost something that day.

After basketball practice, Aomine bought him ice cream. "Here."

"Thank you."

He couldn't remember when it started but Aomine started to walk in front of him rather than beside him. Kuroko wondered why that was. Aomine walked fast, his long legs were hard to catch up to. Before he knew it, he was running just so he could catch up with him.

"Aomine-kun, please...please slow down." Kuroko panted. "I can't catch up like this."

Aomine stopped walking and turned around. "Tetsu..."

Aomine had no idea why Kuroko started to cry. The smaller boy tried to wipe away the tears with his sleeves and he tried to stifle the small sounds he made. It caught Aomine off guard.

A guy like him had no idea how to comfort people, he didn't even know if physical contact was the right way to go about it either.

Aomine reached out to ruffle Kuroko's hair, "Don't cry. I'm sorry."

At that time, Kuroko recalled the way the middle school boy ruffled his hair. He'd say 'sorry' countless times while he did it too. There was no doubt in Kuroko's mind that the boy he met that day was gone. He definitely wasn't Aomine, Kise or anyone in particular- but he existed. He was every person in the world, lonely and despicably desperate. In this world, nothing was set in place. This truth caused people to be deathly afraid.

Aomine tilted his chin up and kissed him.

Once again, something inside Kuroko died.

* * *

**Notes:** And it's done! The contrast between Aomine and Kise's actions and thoughts was something I wanted to emphasize. Aomine did not display his affection the same way Kise did, but in the end he was the one capable of acting on his feelings- for better or worse. In the end, Kuroko was someone who didn't quite understand either of the two, and as such- something extremely important to him disappeared when Kise stopped spending time with them. The title 'Hanging Garden' refers to the uncertain state of things in the fic. I don't think I made Kuroko's role clear enough so I'm sorry if he was hard to understand. Since this is my first lengthy Kuroko no Basket fic, please feel free to leave feedback and any personal interpretations.


End file.
